Arab fans react as K-Pop’s BTS announces break to ‘figure things out’

The seven members of BTS told fans that they were “exhausted” and needed time apart. (AFP)
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Updated 30 June 2022
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Arab fans react as K-Pop’s BTS announces break to ‘figure things out’

DUBAI: K-Pop megastars BTS told fans they were taking a break from the supergroup to focus on their solo careers, citing exhaustion and the pressures of stratospheric success in an emotional video appearance - and Arab fans have flooded social media platforms in light of the news.

The Grammy-nominated septet’s label HYBE pushed back on Wednesday as their share price went into freefall, telling AFP that the pop juggernaut would still be working together.

The seven members of BTS, credited with generating billions of dollars for the South Korean economy, dropped the bombshell on Tuesday, telling fans that they were “exhausted” and needed time apart.

“We’re going into an off phase now,” said Suga, 29, speaking Korean to his bandmates at a group dinner, a video of which was posted to the group’s official YouTube channel.

The clip included English subtitles, which used the word “hiatus,” but HYBE quickly disputed that, saying group activities would not be suspended.

“They will be doing team and individual projects simultaneously,” a representative for the label, whose share price was down 27 percent early Wednesday, told AFP.

In the video, RM, 27, said they were "exhausted" and that they “didn't know what kind of group we were anymore.”

“The problem with K-pop and the whole idol system is that they don’t give you time to mature,” he said, referring to South Korea's notoriously hard-driving music business model.

“Somehow, it’s become my job to be a rapping machine,” he said, adding that this made him feel “trapped.”

“I wanted to shed that for a little bit, but the world wouldn’t let me be.”

Jimin, 26, said the members are “slowly trying to figure things out now.”

“I think that’s why we’re going through a rough patch right now, we’re trying to find our identity and that's an exhausting and long process.”

By the end of the dinner, several of the members of the group behind “Dynamite” and “Butter” had grown tearful as they voiced gratitude for their supporters, a fandom known online as the “ARMY.”

J-Hope, 28, said the group “should spend some time apart to learn how to be one again.”

“I hope you don’t see this is a negative thing,” the artist implored fans. “And see that it’s a healthy plan.”

“It’s not that we’re disbanding – we’re just living apart for a while,” said Suga.

Jungkook, 24, said, “we promise we will return someday even more mature than we are now,” and asked for the “blessing” of fans.

The group’s Arab fan base’s online reaction was tearful but supportive, with tens of thousands of comments quickly posted on Twitter.

“I was studying and took a break on Tik Tok. I read BTS broke up and I don’t know why I started crying,” tweeted a fan, while another said: “It’s nice that BTS is taking a break to rest, but I didn’t like that everyone has a solo and they won’t come back as a group until after a while… its sad I swear.”

“The thing is, as much as BTS need this break a few army pages on here do too: translators, chart pages… even fanbases,” tweeted one user. “They work endlessly to pump content for us all so I hope with this they’ll be able to find balance or even take up some things that they’ve been holding back on.”

Another supporter tried comforting fans by saying: “BTS will not break up or take a break. They will work on their individual and collective projects, but the focus will be on their individual work mostly, and this is only for a certain time.”

BTS has said they were going on short breaks before, first in 2019 and later in December 2021.

The news comes just days after the group released “Proof,” an anthology album that included a new single, “Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment).”

(With AFP)


Switzerland’s Nemo wins Eurovision Song Contest amid Israel controversy

Updated 12 May 2024
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Switzerland’s Nemo wins Eurovision Song Contest amid Israel controversy

MALMO/DUBAI: Switzerland's Nemo won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday in a competition marked by controversy over Israel's participation during the war in Gaza.

Twenty-four-year-old Nemo's "The Code" won the highest score from nations' juries, and enough of the popular votes to get 591 points, edging out Croatia in the final, held in Sweden's Malmo.

"I hope this contest can live up to its promise and continue to stand for peace and dignity for every person in this world," a teary-eyed Nemo said while receiving the trophy.

Twenty-five nations competed Saturday but much of the focus has centred on the controversy of Israel being able to take part.

When Golan went on stage to perform her "Hurricane", both cheers and boos could be heard from the audience in the Malmo Arena.

Boos could also be heard while Israel delivered its points to other acts and any time a country gave "Hurricane" high scores.

Golan finished fifth with 375 points.

Organizers had banned all flags other than those of the participating countries.

The young performer also said that the experience had been "really intense and not just pleasant all the way."

"There were a lot of things that didn't seem like it was all about love and unity and that made me really sad," Nemo told reporters.

Outside the arena, police pushed back protesters where more than a hundred demonstrators waved flags and chanted "Free Palestine".

Diverse Malmo is home to the country's largest community of Palestinian origin and according to police at least 5,000 people gathered to protest in the city in the afternoon.

The European Broadcasting Union, which oversees the event, confirmed in March that Golan would take part, despite calls for her exclusion from thousands of musicians around the world.

The same month, contestants from nine countries, including Nemo, called for a lasting ceasefire.


Irish performer ‘cries’ after Israel reaches Eurovision final as UK venues cancel watch parties

Updated 11 May 2024
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Irish performer ‘cries’ after Israel reaches Eurovision final as UK venues cancel watch parties

Bambie Thug, Ireland’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, claims to have cried  after Israel qualified for the final to be held on Saturday. 

“It is a complete overshadow of everything, goes against everything that Eurovision is meant to be,” Bambie Thug told journalists ahead of the event at Malmo Arena in Sweden. “I cried with my team.”

The 31-year-old singer and songwriter wore a keffiyeh and carried Irish flags while urging the European Broadcasting Union to show “conscience” and “humanity.”
 
The artist will perform “Doomsday Blue” in the final.

Israel’s performer, Eden Golan, will present her song “Hurricane” at the competition. The track underwent revisions after the initial version, “October Rain,” was deemed too political by the EBU.

Although the contest’s motto is “united by music,” this year’s event has attracted protests from Palestinians and their supporters, who say Israel should be excluded because of its conduct of the war in Gaza.

Thousands of people are expected to march for a second time this week through Sweden’s third-largest city, which has a large Muslim population, to demand a boycott of Israel and a ceasefire in the seven-month conflict. 

In Finland, a group of about 40 protesters stormed the headquarters of public broadcaster YLE on Saturday, demanding it withdraw from the song contest because of Israel’s participation.

Venues across England are canceling their gigs after Palestine protest groups instructed their followers to pressure pubs showing the contest - leading some venues to close due to staff safety concerns.

The Duke of York cinema in Brighton called off its Eurovision event this week, telling ticket holders it was doing so “due to safety concerns for our staff and customers,” the Guardian reported. The Brighton Palestinian Solidarity Campaign called the decision a “massive win.”


AlUla to have starring role in ‘Motor City’ to be filmed in Saudi Arabia

Updated 11 May 2024
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AlUla to have starring role in ‘Motor City’ to be filmed in Saudi Arabia

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s AlUla is expected to have a starring role in director Potsy Ponciroli’s upcoming action thriller “Motor City.”

Production is due to start on July 10 in New Jersey and Saudi Arabia. The film is part of production company Stampede Ventures’ 10-picture slate deal with Film AlUla.

The cast will include Alan Ritchson, Shailene Woodley, Ben Foster and Pablo Schreiber. 

“Motor City” is centered around John Miller (Ritchson), a Detroit auto worker who loses everything, including his girlfriend (Woodley), after being framed by a local gangster (Foster) and sent to prison.

After his release, Miller seeks revenge while trying to win his former girlfriend back.


 


Louvre Abu Dhabi to exhibit Van Gogh artwork

Updated 11 May 2024
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Louvre Abu Dhabi to exhibit Van Gogh artwork

DUBAI: Louvre Abu Dhabi is set to display an artwork by Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh at the “Post-Impressionism: Beyond Appearances” exhibition running from Oct. 16 to Feb. 9 next year.

The work, “Bedroom in Arles,” depicts van Gogh’s bedroom in his yellow house in Arles, where he set up his studio and lived from September 1888.

The exhibition will be curated by Jean-Remi Touzet, conservator for paintings at the Musee d’Orsay, and Jerome Farigoule, chief curator at Louvre Abu Dhabi, with the support of Aisha Alahmadi, curatorial assistant at Louvre Abu Dhabi.

It will delve into the period known as post-impressionism, focusing specifically on the years between 1886 and 1905. “These two decades were a time of immense artistic innovation and experimentation, marking the transition from impressionism to the explosive emergence of the ‘fauves’ at the Salon d’Automne,” a press release said.

Highlights from the Arab world include two masterpieces by French Egyptian artist Georges Hanna Sabbagh: “The artist and his family at La Clarte” (1920) and “The Sabbaghs in Paris” (1921).


Singer Elyanna makes her TV debut on ‘The Late Show’

Updated 11 May 2024
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Singer Elyanna makes her TV debut on ‘The Late Show’

  • Chilean Palestinian star performs hits from debut ‘Woledto’
  • Proudly adorned with Palestinian keffiyeh around her head

DUBAI: Chilean Palestinian singer Elyanna made her television debut this week on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

The 22-year-old music sensation delivered a medley of hits from her debut album “Woledto,” including “Callin’ U (Tamally Maak)” and “Mama Eh,” the first song performed entirely in Arabic on the show.

Her performance featured an ensemble of oud, tabla, riq and dancers.

“I had so much fun performing on this iconic stage,” she wrote to her 1.2 million followers after her show.

The hitmaker was adorned in a white lace dress featuring two thigh-high slits. She complemented the attire with coin-belt accessories, draping them over her shoulders and fastening them around her calves to add a Middle Eastern touch to her look.

In one of the pictures she shared with her fans, she proudly wore the Palestinian keffiyeh around her head as she posed in front of “The Late Show” desk.

Elyanna dropped her album in April. It features nine songs: “Woledto,” “Ganeni,” “Calling U,” “Al Sham,” “Mama Eh,” “Kon Nafsak,” “Lel Ya Lel,” “Yabn El Eh” and “Sad in Pali.”

Before releasing the album, she wrote to her Instagram followers: “This album is the embodiment of pride to be an Arab woman, to be from Nazareth, to be from the Middle East.”

“This is the closest I’ve been to where I come from,” she added. “The only feature on my album is my grandfather.”

The Los Angeles-based singer’s music is a mix of Arabic and Western beats, which she attributes to her multicultural upbringing.

Elyanna has been normalizing Arabic lyrics in the Western world throughout her career, taking inspiration from artists including Lana Del Ray and Beyonce, as well as Middle Eastern legend Fayrouz.

In 2023, Elyanna became the first artist to perform a full set in Arabic at California’s Coachella music festival.

She embarked on a North American Tour this year, gracing stages in Dallas, Houston, Toronto, Montreal, Washington, New York, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco and Santa Ana.